Hey gang, this is my first post in the Van Forum, so if I'm asking an old and often repeated question, I apologize. Saturday I was doing the used car lot tour and discoverd a 1997 Ford Conversion Van that was fairly nice. It only has the V-6 engine, so using it for towing would be out of the question, I know. But just as a "road tripping" rig, how do the fare??? It has four bucket seats, and a removable rear seat. The exterior and interior are in excellent condition. It does have some cheapo tires on it and they would of course need to be replaced. I believe I can get it for around $5300.00. My main use for it would be just cruising and some traveling, what could I expect for fuel mileage on it. The Van has 85,000 miles on it, any opinions on life expectancy of the V-6??? Thanks in advance for your input.....

 

not a v-6 fan. the 302 and 351 get about the same milage. your looking at about 13/17 on any van engine combo. these vans loose value quik. i'd check ebay and autotrader.com for ideas of prices in your area. hitops and nice colors help the price.

there are all strong runners, but look for leaks and ticks. both are hard to repair on vans. you don't have alot of room in the engine compartment and labor will cost u on some fixes.

due to the price of fuel i'd be a hard sell if looking to buy. i picked up a 87 hitop for a grand and have had little trouble. knock on wood. keep your eyes open you may find a sweet deal. good luck

 

Thanks Rob. I know there are probably some better deals around, but this one is in super good condition. I have the name and phone number of the guy who traded it in (he was the original owner), left a message on his machine for him to call me back. I'll just wait and see what he has to say, but meanwhile I'm still looking at others.

 

I agree with Rob. A friend had a '92 Ford conversion van and got the V6 hoping for better gas mileage. He was dissappointed and wished he'd gotten the 302 for more power.

If you're looking for a good highway-cruiser, definitely get a raised-roof van. The additional head room is extremely useful. I couldn't imagine getting a van without it.

Another thing to look for: Easily removable seats. Especially if you plan to use the van for occasional cargo-work. I don't know how common this is, but boy do I wish my seats had quick-releases rather than being bolted in. I can put the rear bench back in if needed, but once I took the center captain chairs out, they aren't going back in without dropping the front fuel tank and exhaust system.

To me, the "ultimate" van would be an E-350, extended-rear cargo van, raised roof, diesel, with Quigley 4WD. Add forward side windows, no rear side windows, no rear door windows and a quick-release center fold-down bench seat.

 

I bought a 97 E-150 conversion in Nov. 05, one owner, 34k miles, 5.4 4spd auto. Purchased from an out of State dealer. I was told prior to buying one of these, by three other people that owned one, they got 20mpg hwy. The original owner (finally tracked him down) also stated he originally got 20mpg, prior to a factory recall for a powertrain / computer adjustment, which was the end of the great mileage. LSS, I paid $10,400, and had to put another $2k in for repairs. Has a lousy radio/cassette, and front seats were not in the best of condition. Otherwise, it looked like new. Cloth interior, nothing fancy, but I needed the bed for medical reasons. Based on my last E-150 6cyl, (14/17mpg) which went 15 yrs, I figured this would be my last vehicle purchase. Engine started stalling 250 miles after I bought it. Spent five weeks in the shop. Many parts, new tires, and I hope that is it. One of the worst deals I've made. I've put about 1500 miles on it, gets 14.5 hwy and about 11.5 city.

 

I have a 96 with about 34,000. The seats are interchangable. They bolt on to the base with the same four bolt pattern. I have a power base on the driver's seat, and the seat itself is getting worn, so I'll swap in one from the middle row. With the price of gas, it'll be hard to get a good price on these now. Probably worse on trade-in. Glad I don't drive too much, or I'd be going broke on gas. I have the 351, never saw 20 mpg, except driving down a mountain, with a tailwind!!

 

Thanks a lot for the input guys. I'm off looking for a raised roof conversion van!!! I checked a bit on the internet yesterday, the prices on the big vans is definitely well below book now. Price of gas I understand why the resale is dropping. Certainly appreciate all the good advice you guys came through with for me !!!!!

 

<TABLE class=tborder cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=4 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR title="Post 3367531" vAlign=top><TD class=alt1 align=middle width=125>Leo_T</TD><TD class=alt2>I have a 96 with about 34,000. The seats are interchangable. They bolt on to the base with the same four bolt pattern. I have a power base on the driver's seat, and the seat itself is getting worn, so I'll swap in one from the middle row.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

I knew the drivers seat was worn before I bought it, but no idea it was as bad as it was. I thought it would be no big deal to swap one from the rear. Was I wrong. They did not have anywhere near the same bolt pattern, and had to drill and enlarge holes in the seat for the sliders to fit. It took hours to make the change. I also needed to remove an arm rest. Push the arm in at 12 o'clock, push back 90 degrees and pull the arm out. Be surprised how much better they work with a little Gibbs.

 

yechave, one more evidence your van has been rolled back. The driver seat would not be in such a shape at real 35K. Beeing clean inside, look like you van got a lot of highway miles with driver there mostly.

I would check not only carfax, but the records of inspections (DMV can help), or anything else to see the milage/dates records.

If you find any evidence of rollback, get back to the dealer, and played right, get the money back and keep the vehicle; or othewise dealer can be suided, sure deal.

My friend was ready to eat his hat when I find out that the vehicle he bought 5 years ago was a roll-back, but now it is too late - he drove it beyond the last milage record from previour ownership.
den25

 

den25,
I've called the original owner four times, and he said he drove just over 4K miles a year, taking the family to eat on weekends. He is 75, volunteered his time to his community, his wife died, and has no reason to tell me a story. My guess is, he was pretty heavy, but I didn't want to ask. All the seat wear is from getting in and out. Not a lot of room to move your feet around and get out of the seat, on the inside. The seats are not that great to begin with, and I thought it would not be that big a deal to find a nice leather capt's chair on the drivers side. A few inquiries to the largest salvage yard in the area, has come up with nothing so far. I really needed the bed due to extreme fatigue. The dealer I bought this from, I believe bought it from an auction. A very sad story on my end..... but there are no marks on the windshield or body, no wear on the brake pad, and other than rough upolstery on the two front seats and a lousy radio, it looks great inside and out. I've spent days putting together my 48 pg claim which was mailed today to the Consumer Affairs Dept where this dealership is. My county DA was of no assistance. To say more would get me another "sensored" e-mail from the moderators for being a political post. I did obtain all the service records from new, and I see no gaps in the story. It will most likely last longer than I do.

 

yes strange story. I see from consumer affairs department you been into it a lot. BTW the mediators can be sometimes recommended by consumer affairs department; it is usually simpler way then going into court. Complaint is good anyway, since after few of then the dealer may be investigated and can lose a license. Tell a dealer you filing a complaint, may be they will back off?

I got some story with local smog inspection shop; the guy fail my car for not having the timing belt cover with timing marks required to measure timing; emission wise it was perfect. Next day I came back prepared; we called to Buroe Of Automotive Repairs in California from his shop and asked what the rules are; the rules were not clear so further investigation required (so looks like if particular guy thinks he should check the timing; let him do that; but here he could not; but the timing in Escorts is not adjustable so his request might be unreasonable - he can not adjust it so why he needs it in situaltion when the car's emission is better the average so the car is good, overall,who is right, sort of "who knows"). The whole problem was so stupid, and I was mad at him for failing my car for such a reason; he refused to pass my car; I demonstrated him complaint forms, his licensing info; promised to file a complaint for investigation to find out who is right in here; he got to loose more then me so he wanted to back off but could not change the opinion, so we got the agreement to make it like I was never at that station (and never going back); I got money back and used them to pay for the inspection on other station (passed) in return of not filing a complait (again, the conflict was not for $50 but for principles).